[Editor: This poem by Mary Eliza Fullerton was published in Moods and Melodies: Sonnets and Lyrics (1908).]
Forgiven.
Say not you wronged me, though I thought last night,
Your fault was all a crime, and made the vow
That when I saw you with the bended brow
Coming to ask for mercy and respite
That I should frown and spurn you from my sight,
Or but to feed my scorn your tears allow;
I thought I saw you then as you are now —
But I forgot your beauty and its might.
And I forgot my nature, that the one
I love, unpardoned or misunderstood
Lifts but her eyes and she is pressed upon
The ermine of the stern judicial mood.
Say not you wronged me, love; I have no ears,
Only my lips to take those tears, those tears.
Source:
Mary E. Fullerton, Moods and Melodies: Sonnets and Lyrics, Melbourne: Thomas C. Lothian, 1908, p. 10
Editor’s notes:
ermine = the dignity of a judge, noble, or high official (may also refer to 1) a weasel, or stoat, whose coat becomes white in winter, especially a short-tailed weasel; 2) white fur sourced from ermines; 3) the office, rank, or status of a judge, noble, or high-ranking official, whose ceremonial or official robe is, or historically was, trimmed or otherwise decorated with ermine)
Leave a Reply